Global computer networks, such as the Internet, have provided new computing platforms and applications (including software application design). For example, internet scale distributed computing provides so-called network as platform computing. The network as platform allows applications (configured as web-enabled applications), to be run entirely through a browser. Further, the network as platform allows users across or within various roles to collaborate.
An industry example of computer implemented programs and collaborative systems using network as platform is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Systems. PLM solutions refer to a business strategy that helps companies to share product data, apply common processes, and leverage corporate knowledge for the development of products from conception to the end of their life, across the concept of extended enterprise. According to this concept, a company is made up not just of its company departments but also of other actors such as business partners, suppliers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), and customers. By including these actors, PLM may allow this network to operate as a single entity to conceptualize, design, build, and support products and processes.
Amongst the PLM solutions are the computer-aided techniques, which are known to include Computer-Aided Design (CAD). Computer-Aided Design relates to software solutions for authoring product design. Similarly, CAE is an acronym for Computer-Aided Engineering, e.g. it relates to software solutions for simulating the physical behavior of a future product. CAM stands for Computer-Aided Manufacturing and typically includes software solutions for defining manufacturing processes and operations. Some PLM solutions make it possible, for instance, to design and develop products by creating digital mockups (a 3D graphical model of a product). The digital product may be first defined and simulated using an appropriate application. Then, the lean digital manufacturing processes may be defined and modeled.
For example, generally, known PLM solutions provide means for organizing product engineering knowledge, managing manufacturing engineering knowledge, and enabling enterprise integrations and connections into both the engineering and manufacturing knowledge centers. All together the system delivers an open object model linking products, processes, resources to enable dynamic, knowledge-based product creation and decision support that drives optimized product definition, manufacturing preparation, production and service.
Such PLM solutions comprise a relational database of products. The database comprises a set of textual data and relations between the data. Data typically include technical data related to the products said data being ordered in a hierarchy of data and are indexed to be searchable. The data are representative of the modeled objects, which are often modeled products and processes.
PLM information, including product configuration, process knowledge and resources information are typically intended to be edited in a collaborative way. For instance, a team of designers working in a collaborative way may individually contribute to design a product by accessing shared information related to the product from remote sites through web-enabled applications. Each user or remote site is separately registered with the system platform and each is responsible for implementing a respective set of web-server services for the application(s) of this project. Although a user may have existing web services originally implemented for other applications, there is no mechanism to reuse or share these web services for the current project. There is a need for users at a client or applications of the platform to copy or otherwise leverage off existing web services.
Currently, many companies try to remain competitive by providing a variety of product portfolios to different groups of customers, and also by reducing the total costs of purchasing and production.
Since the product portfolios are changing over time as market trends do, the product and/or manufacturing designers need to decide which parts or subassemblies—called end items—are going to be purchased to productize the portfolios.